Bally Eight Ball Restoration

[Retropin]

Good to see that design on a cabinet and not my computer screen!

Looking good mate even if you went against my meticulous instructions and sprayed the crosses in.
The real test of course is when the black goes on... roll on Monday.

[ktm450]

Looks good so far, +1 on Gavs stencils, make life much easier and come up perfect 

[Crashramp]

Looking good Nino, I love the look and theme of this pin, how can you not love a pin with the Fonz playing pool on it Aaaaeeeyyy. I've played this title before but flippers were only just and the cabinet had seen better days so its awsome to see this restore.

[millsy]

Great Job 

[Steve2010]

Looking very good Nino.  It's always the tons of time spent preparing, masking, taping, etc, etc.  Then of course the actual painting is bugger all time.   But of course this will be well worth it .... will be great to see the finished product!

[Strangeways]

OK - This is a MASSIVE update to this restoration. I ended up purchasing a new HVLP Gun specifically for doing the stencil work as my touch up gun was not good enough. After some practicing, I was ready to paint the black color. There were some minor issues with the Black stencil, but after a few phone calls to Gav, we got it sorted, and any future cutting of the stencil will be in perfect alignment 

Here's some pictures of the application of the Black stencil. You can see the 1mm tolerance there is with overlap (sections where you can see the orange will be painted over). These must be in perfect alignment. These stencils go on "dry", so you only get one chance. A bit of trimming and re joining addressed the minor issue I had. There's 2 hours work just getting this right - then checking - then checking again..





Again - That faint orange line you see along Fonzie's elbow and forearm must be PERFECTLY overlapped, or you get the basecoat inbetween the colors, and it would look crap !





The front horizontal line must be perfect..





.. or Fonzie's arm won't line up and the cue stick won't be dead straight ..





The front horizontal lines govern exactly where the rest of the stencils are registered. Get this step wrong, and the entire repaint will be a waste of time !





Ready for the Black paint !

A mist coat and then two heavier coats. The fan on the HVLP is GREAT for large sections. In this case, I hit the entire side in less than a minute. That LOOKS like a lot of paint, but I'm more interested in the finish.





Here is the finished process with the Vinyl stencil removed. This result is FAR beyond my expectations - But Gav's work and materials FINALLY pays off 

















All the masking is removed to reveal the finish.. 








Now it will sit in the garage for a couple of days ;





The finish is uniform. Maybe a slight more semi gloss on the black (in the sun) - But the results are excellent !





So now this restore with gather some momentum. I have the GREEN paints (two different shades) for the apron and siderails.



Really STOKED with the results - SPECIAL thanks to Gav for an outstanding set of stencils 

[MartyJ]

Awesome work Niño, looks fantastic

[Crashramp]

It looks stunning Nino!

[MartyJ]

Awesome work Niño, looks fantastic

[Retropin]

Absolutely.. awesome work. Not an easy stencil to use. I thought Haunted House was hard but this stencil has no forgiving and registration has to be spot on for it all to line up.
Wait til Fathom.. that one is just as dificult to use but your an experienced hand at it now and the results should be just as good.
cabinet looks just bloody great.. what a show piece!

[Steve2010]

Very, very nice.  Although a ton of work, repainting the cab just breathes new life back into it.  Excellent work, Nino.

[Wotto]

Between seeing this cabinet and often playing this title ( well I say playing but in reality it's called 'getting a new one torn' )  at a local mates house - it nearly makes me want one 

For some reason this INCREDIBLY frustrating game keeps us coming back to it , just to get DESTROYED and none of us can put our finger on exactly what it is about it.

[Cursed]

Wow that looks fantastic, must be hard giving some of these games back Nino. 

[Strangeways]

Wow that looks fantastic, must be hard giving some of these games back Nino. 

It is VERY difficult at times. I nearly CRIED when I delivered the Fathom. BUT - I enjoy the restoration process more than anything. Removing the stencil to reveal the artwork was like a kid unwrapping his christmas presents ! I also enjoy sharing the process with others - it promotes the preservation of pinball - which is important to me.

I walked into the garage this morning and it was a pleasant surprise to see the game staring at me. A great deal of satisfaction, and at the same time, I look at all the other repaints that are lining up. A hell of a lot of work - but the results are more than worth it !

Thanks for the kind words guys !

[goodolddays]

Totally Excellent result on that cab Nino  and hats off also to Gav for producing what looks to be a very tricky stencil design  . Great teamwork .